- The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) has opened a Call for Proposals (BGFA4) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with the aim of accelerating the provision of off-grid energy services in DRC by providing financing to energy service providers active in the country.
- Nefco, Sweden and the local energy authority ANSER are signing a joint Letter of Intent to support the programme implementation.
- The BGFA programme has also signed four further agreements with off-grid energy service companies in Burkina Faso, Liberia and Zambia to support the expansion and scale-up of mini-grid connections and sales of high-quality solar home systems. Read more
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest country in Africa and has widespread energy poverty, with very limited affordable off-grid energy solutions. This first Call for Proposals therefore aims to accelerate the market entry and scale-up of commercially sustainable businesses in the country with a focus on reaching underserved communities in rural, peri-urban and some urban areas.
Interested energy service providers (ESPs) are invited to compete for results-based financing for expansion and scale-up of standalone solar home systems, mini-grids and productive use-of-energy solutions in the country. More information and a link to the online application system are available on beyondthegrid.africa.
“We are very pleased to open our first Call for Proposals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to accelerate the scale-up of commercially sustainable energy solutions in the country and to support market development through the deployment of the BGFA programme. In particular, we hope to accelerate access to affordable and clean off-grid energy for customers in small urban centres, peri-urban and rural areas of the country,” comments Ash Sharma, Head of Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa at Nefco.
Nefco and Sweden has also signed a Letter of Intent with L’ Agence Nationale de l’Électrification et des Services Énergétiques en milieux rural et périurbain (ANSER), the national authority in charge of planning, overseeing and financing off-grid electrification in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to support the implementation of Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa programme in the country.
A two-stage application process
The BGFA4 application process is divided into two stages: a Pre-Qualification stage and a Final Application stage. The purpose of the Pre-Qualification stage is to ensure Applicants’ compliance with the key eligibility criteria and minimum technical and financial capacity requirements.
The Pre-Qualification stage is open for applications through an online application system. The application forms in the system will open at 16:00 Helsinki time (UTC +3) on 21 June 2022. The application system will close for submissions of Pre-Qualification applications on 29 August 2022. The Pre-Qualification stage, including a review of the applications, is expected to be completed by early October 2022.
Applicants are requested to send any questions regarding the call and application process through the online application system at the latest by 25 July 2022. Answers will be published in a generic form and made available to all registered applicants in the application system on 9 August 2022. Please only post questions related to the BGFA4 Call for Proposals via the online application system’s support section, as specified in the Pre-Qualification Guidelines.
For further information about the Call for Proposals:
Visit beyondthegrid.africa and register for the online application system to apply for funding.
Download Pre-Qualification Guidelines for more information on the application process and eligibility criteria.
Good luck!
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
